


In which Klaus hears news

by Overlord_Bethany



Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: Ficlet, Gen, Paris-related, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 12:24:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11851512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Overlord_Bethany/pseuds/Overlord_Bethany
Summary: ...and he probably scowls a lot about it.





	In which Klaus hears news

Klaus Wulfenbach would not say that he disliked hearing news of his son. Not exactly. He wanted to know how Gilgamesh progressed with his schooling, and with his extracurricular activities as well. Of late, however, he had come to anticipate reports of his son with a feeling approaching trepidation. 

Captain Dupree always filed her report early in the morning. Suspiciously early. Klaus wondered if the pirate queen had adopted a more nocturnal lifestyle for the duration of her assignment in Paris. She provided detailed accounts of Gil’s adventures, almost too detailed, but for one flaw: Captain Dupree almost never used anyone’s name. He had come to know the nicknames that appeared with regularity, but while “Prince Squealy” and “Big V’s Hot Kid” and “Mercy Killing” gave him a vivid picture of the denizens of Paris, he could not infer with whom his son kept company. 

His spies reported with less frequency, but more useful detail. Yesterday Klaus had received word that the Sturmvoraus heir had attempted to frame Gil for a breaking into a professor’s office. To what end he could not say, and the true culprit remained at large. 

Rarely, Klaus heard from Master Voltaire himself. He sat and he stared at the cube on the table before him, already fairly certain what to expect. Gilgamesh, what have you done this time?

Klaus sighed through his nose. He prodded the cube, twisted the knob that then presented itself, and pressed three of the corners at once. An image of the Master of Paris flickered into view above the cube. He scowled. Klaus could have predicted that. 

“Wulfenbach.”

No preamble. Klaus felt his eyebrows arch in time with the rising of his curiosity. 

“I don’t much care if your ‘Herr Holzfaller’ and a youngling of the House Valois woo one another across Paris, or all across Europa for that matter. But—” Here Master Voltaire bared his teeth. “The next time they damage a major landmark in my city, I will send you the repair bill.”

The cube emitted a whir and a crackle, and the image of Master Voltaire vanished, leaving Klaus alone with his thoughts. 

Klaus sat back, his chair creaking a protest. He pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. A youngling of the House Valois. Which one would that be? Dupree gave the most lively accounts of friends and foes alike, but given her magnificent lack of helpfulness, Klaus supposed he could only eliminate The Spy One and Prince Squealy from suspicion. 

A long afternoon cross-referencing reports lay ahead of him. For one fleeting moment, Klaus wondered if he could build a clank to do half of the work for him. Not really, not if he wanted to keep this matter quiet. He sighed. 

Time to get to work.


End file.
